A-Level students in England will be awarded the grades predicted by their teachers as the government decides to scrap a controversial assessment algorithm, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) has announced.
The decision comes in the wake of mass backlash after a standardisation model used to adjust student exam grades this year was found to unfairly disadvantage poorer students. The algorithm, used by Ofqual when A-Level exams were cancelled due to coronavirus, took into account class size and schools’ past exam results, which saw many state school students receive grades lower than those predicted by their teachers. Some even missed out on their university offers.
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Roger Taylor, the chair of Ofqual, said in a statement today: “We understand this has been a distressing time for students, who were awarded exam results last week for exams they never took. The pandemic has created circumstances no one could have ever imagined or wished for.”
“We want to now take steps to remove as much stress and uncertainty for young people as possible – and to free up heads and teachers to work towards the important task of getting all schools open in two weeks,” he continued. “After reflection, we have decided that the best way to do this is to award grades on the basis of what teachers submitted.”
Students in Wales, who receive their A-Level results after England, were also told today that they would be awarded teacher-predicted grades. In a statement, the Welsh education secretary Kirsty Williams said: “Working with Qualifications Wales and WJEC, we have sought an approach which provides fairness and balances out differences in the standards applied to judgments in schools.”
While many A-Level students in England will be relieved to know that their grades have not been unfairly marked down, it is unclear whether universities will accept students who have already been rejected based on their algorithm-adjusted grades. Due to the intense marketisation of university education, many institutions over-recruit for places, meaning courses could be oversubscribed if new grades are taken into account. Universities this year were required to cap the number of students they accept, meaning they could face financial penalties if they exceed the limit.
Ana*, a state school student from east London, missed out on her place at the University of Cambridge when her grades were reduced. “I hope I get my predicted grades because that will mean I get to go to my top choice uni so I’m happy,” she told VICE News. “After I emailed [Cambridge], they told me they would offer me a place if I met the appeal or I resit my exams. So if I get my teacher predictions, it means I will probably get accepted this year or next year.”
Olivia, a student from Manchester who also had her grades marked down last week, told VICE News that while she is relieved, the news could have come earlier. “It is amazing to see the government are allowing us to use our predicted grades as our final grades,” she said. “However, they should have done this from the beginning and never allowed an algorithm to discriminate against working-class people and make [or] break young people’s futures.”
*Name has been changed.
